Skip to content
Homeschool Up
Start free trialFree trial
Menu

Guide

How to grade in your homeschool

Many homeschool families never give a grade in the early years, and that is fine. Grades start to matter when someone outside the family will read them, most often in high school. When they do, a simple, written-down method is better than a precise one.

In short

Decide which work is graded, group it into a few categories with weights (for example tests 50%, assignments 30%, projects 20%), score each piece as a percentage, average within categories, combine by weight, and convert to a letter on a scale you write down. Keep the method the same for the whole course.

When to grade

  • High school courses that will go on a transcript.
  • Any subject where a reader outside the family will see the result.
  • Optional before high school: mastery-based teaching (do it until it is right) often makes grades unnecessary in the early years.

A method you can explain

  1. Choose two to four categories and their weights, adding to 100%.
  2. Score each graded piece as points earned over points possible.
  3. Average each category, multiply by its weight, and add.
  4. Convert to a letter on a scale you print with the transcript, for example A 90 to 100, B 80 to 89, C 70 to 79, D 60 to 69, F below 60.

Fairness and honesty

Grade the work, not the effort, and let an excused assignment be excused rather than a zero. If you allow redos, say so in the course description. A transcript reader trusts a method that is consistent and written down more than one full of A's with no explanation.

How Homeschool Up grades

  • Grading is off until you turn it on for a subject.
  • Categories with weights, or none (every point counts the same). Excused scores are left out.
  • The family chooses the scale: standard A to F, plus and minus, or pass and fail.
  • Averages and letters are computed, never curved; you can check the math by hand.

Questions people ask

Is it fair for a parent to grade their own child?
Every teacher grades the children they teach. What makes a homeschool grade credible is a written method, consistent use, and work samples or outside scores that back it up.
What about pass and fail?
Pass and fail suits courses like PE or electives. On a 4.0 GPA, decide whether a pass counts; Homeschool Up's pass and fail scale gives a pass 4.0 points.

Grades you can explain

Categories, weights and a scale, set once per subject. 15-day free trial on every plan.

Start your free trialSee how it works